Narges Mohammadi can’t be stopped. The from Iran has spent her life standing up for human rights. And she has kept fighting for fairness — even from behind prison walls. On October 6, Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize.
There are several Nobel Prizes. The award for peace may be the biggest one of all. Each year, it goes to a person or group that made the planet better. In 2014, Malala Yousafzai got the award for supporting education. And in 2020, the World Food Program won for helping the hungry.
The spotlight is on Mohammadi in 2023. The Nobel Committee in Norway chose her. It gave Mohammadi the award “for her fight against the of women in Iran and to promote human rights and freedom for all.”
Mohammadi was born in Iran in 1972. In 1979, the Iranian happened. A new government took power. Years later, Mohammadi would stand up to that government.
Mohammadi studied science and worked as an . But she also focused on causes she believed in. Mohammadi worked with the Defenders of Human Rights Center in the city of Tehran. She fought for women’s rights, better treatment of prisoners, and more.
Mohammadi has paid a big price. In Iran, people can get in trouble for acting against the government. Mohammadi has been arrested 13 times. She is in prison right now. But she hasn’t stopped speaking out.
In 2022, there were big protests in Iran. The country has strict rules about what women can wear and how they live their lives. Women don’t have the same rights as men. Crowds called for change in the streets. And Mohammadi called for change from prison. She showed support and got other prisoners to protest too. Activists often used three words: “Woman — Life — Freedom.”
Mohammadi snuck a piece of writing to the New York Times newspaper. It was called “The More They Lock Us Up, the Stronger We Become.” Mohammadi wrote, “Women will not give up.”
Mohammadi’s family spoke about her Nobel win. Hamidreza Mohammadi, her brother, said he had “tears and happiness” when he heard the news. “It’s not just about my sister,” he shared. “It’s about everything that is happening in Iran.”
Updated October 6, 2023, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Ashley Morgan
